Francesco Bagnaia put on a stunning performance as he stormed to victory in the Sprint. Bagnaia seized the lead early on and maintained his pace all the way to the checkered flag. With this win, Bagnaia is now only 15 points behind Martin in the championship as we head into Sunday’s race, while Jorge Martin managed to finish fourth after fighting his way up from 11th. Bagnaia bested his teammate Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez, who had their own duel for second place. The tension was high from the start, and with unpredictable weather, it was set for a thrilling Sprint.

Bagnaia nailed his launch, grabbing the lead into Turn 1. Polesitter Pedro Acosta dropped to third, but he wasn’t there for long. Acosta fought his way back, passing Bastianini for second, before setting his sights on Bagnaia up front. By Lap 3, the rookie sent it into the lead and started to push hard. Meanwhile, Jorge Martin was making moves of his own, slicing through the pack to fifth, with Marc Marquez right on his tail. The six-time World Champion soon overtook Martin, pushing him back to sixth.

Joan Mir had an early crash at Turn 11, while Brad Binder had to retire from the race due to unknown mechanical issues. The home hero, Takaaki Nakagami, went down after a collision with his teammate Johann Zarco, who was given a Long Lap Penalty for the incident. Up front, Acosta managed to build a small gap over Bagnaia, and by Lap 8, the rookie had stretched it to half a second. Then, disaster struck for the rookie, as he crashed out of the lead on Lap 9, though luckily, he walked away uninjured.

Bagnaia was back in control, with a comfortable lead. But behind him, a battle started, with Marc Marquez challenging Bastianini as the two riders traded blows. Heading into the final lap, Bagnaia had a one-second gap, which shrank as the finish line approached, due to him needing to save fuel. Even though Bagnaia had a strong pace, he secured a Sprint win ahead of Bastianini, who managed to keep Marquez in third.

Jorge Martin fought hard for fourth, collecting important points, while Franco Morbidelli came in fifth after another solid ride. Fabio Di Giannantonio took sixth, edging out Alex Marquez. Jack Miller and Maverick Viñales rounded out the points positions.